


Us College Kids

by sirina77



Category: American Dragon: Jake Long, Danny Phantom, Gravity Falls, My Life as a Teenage Robot, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics), The Secret Saturdays
Genre: Beast Wirt, Bi, Found Family, Gay, Hilarity Ensues, Mostly Just Shenanigans, Multi, Some Plot, Trans, Witch Dipper, ace - Freeform, bill is here too, bros, but only sometimes, character interactions, college kid crossover au, episodic storytelling, everyones in college, ignoring Phantom Planet, pinescone, straight - Freeform, they were roommates, well two of them are
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirina77/pseuds/sirina77
Summary: Six supernatural kids end up attending the same university in New York City.Hilarity ensues.Episodic stories and chapters. Technically has an overarching plot, but really it's supposed to focus on the character interactions. Tags will update as new elements and characters are added.
Relationships: Dipper Pines/Wirt (Over the Garden Wall)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 111





	1. And they were roommates

“You know you can call me for anything, right?” Mabel asked as she wrapped her arms around her brother. 

Dipper rolled his eyes as he hugged her back. “Yeah yeah. Though Wirt’s a lot closer. A four hour drive is a lot less hassle than flying across the country.”

“Yeah, but Wirt can’t kick ass like your big sister can.” Mabel laughed. She pulled back and levelled a look at Dipper. “Seriously though. Call me?”

“I’ll call.” he promised. “Even if there isn’t anyone I need you to come beat the hell out of.”

Mabel smiled and pulled Dipper in for another, much tighter hug. “I’m gonna miss you, bro bro.” 

Dipper squeezed her back. “Hey, you’ll see me at Ford’s conference thing in a month. And, I’ll be home for Christmas and Spring Break after that.” he said, pulling back to look her in the eye. “And before you know it, it’ll be summer again and we’ll be back in the Falls. I’ll have two semesters under my belt and you’ll officially be a world traveler.”

Mabel’s lips pulled up, though her eyes still held a sadness in them. “Promise to call?”

“Yes. I promise.” Dipper groaned, leaning back and rolling his eyes dramatically. “Would you like me to page you too? Send you letters by mail? Message in a bottle?”

The teasing made Mabel laugh in earnest and Dipper grinned as she shoved him away. 

“Jerk!” she quipped, though there was no bite in it. “Just don’t drown in books for days on end and call your damn sister from time to time, alright?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Dipper said, leading her towards the door of the dorm.

“Oh, and one more thing.” Mabel said, turning to face Dipper once more. Her grin fell away and her gaze took on a steely quality. “Bill, if I hear you’ve been using Dipper’s body at night again, I’ll lock you in the ‘time-out’ box for a month. Got it?”

Dipper blinked and his eyes became a solid, glowing yellow with cat-like slits for pupils. He leaned against the doorframe and threw her a toothy grin. “Awe, come on Shooting Star. You really think I’d try that old trick again?” Bill asked. 

“Yes.”

“Ouch. You wound me.” Bill said, holding a hand over his/Dipper’s heart. “In any case, you don’t need to worry. I’ll be doing most of my business in the Dream Realm for the next few months, if not longer. Which means Pine Tree will be getting all the sleep his little college student schedule will allow.” He chuckled. “Honestly, he’d probably be better off with me in charge of his nights, but that’s his choice.” 

“Good.” Mabel said with a nod. “Let’s keep it that way.” 

“I’ll miss you too, kid.” Bill said, rolling his eyes. “Now get a move on. Pine Tree’s itching to organize his bookshelf and his internal rambling is about to drive me to burn something.”

“No arson in the dorm, Bill!” Mabel reprimanded, opening the door and stepping into the hall. “Bye Dipper! See you at the Conference!”

Dipper blinked back to normal and waved as his sister dashed down the hall. “See you at the Conference!” He watched her turn the corner and tried to ignore the feeling of a piece of himself being pulled away. 

_ ‘Awe, come on. Don’t get all sappy on me, Pine Tree.’ _

Dipper rolled his eyes and stepped back into the room, shutting the door before speaking. 

“It just feels weird.” he said, kneeling down to open a box of books that had been set on the bed. “Knowing she’s not going to be just down the hall or even in the same state.”

_ ‘Yeah yeah. Twins being seperated for the first time. Real tragic.’ _ Bill deadpanned.  _ ‘Just get back to organizing your books, will you? And don’t forget to put the sigils up or I’m going to do it myself.’ _

“I won’t forget.” Dipper hummed. “It’s not exactly the first thing on my list though, so just sit tight and be patient. We still don’t know when our roommate is going to show up.” 

Bill’s laugh echoed through Dipper’s mind.  _ ‘Now  _ **_that_ ** _ I am eager to see. What poor sap is going to get stuck rooming with  _ **_you_ ** _?’ _

“Well, the school said they pair up the out-of-state kids, so he won’t be a local.” Dipper said, moving a few books to the shelf, mentally checking the order they were meant to go in. “Who knows, might be another dude from Cali.” 

_ ‘You didn’t check to see who it was?’  _

“I was kind of busy juggling packing, that werebear incident and  **you** for the last two weeks.” Dipper said. “Besides, he hasn’t reached out to me, so either he’s been just as busy or he’s really reclusive. Either way, we’ll probably get the dorm to ourselves most of the time.” 

‘Ugh! Boring.’ Bill groaned. He hummed as if he was thinking and Dipper paused mid step.

“No. You cannot go rummaging around in their head while they’re sleeping.” Dipper warned. 

_ ‘You used to be a lot more fun.’ _

“I’m serious, Bill.”

_ ‘Clearly.’ _

“If my roommate and I become friends, then great. If not, fine. But I don’t want to be privy to their life story unless they willingly tell me about it themselves.” He said, returning to his unpacking. “So, no snooping. Got it?”

_ ‘Fine, mom! Just don’t come crawling back asking for my help if they turn out to be a psychopath.’ _ Bill fell quiet for a moment.  _ ‘Eh, who am I kidding? I’d love to help deal with another crazy bastard. They always have the tastiest nightmares.’ _

Dipper rolled his eyes and focussed on the task at hand. 

Two hours later, after all the books had been added to the shelf, the bed made and the desk put together, Dipper was halfway through organizing some of his herbs. The books had been the easy part, since they’d already been packed mostly in order. The thing that was taking up most of his time was figuring out where to stash his witch supplies. Most of it could be excused away as ‘collecting rocks’ or ‘drying herbs for cooking’ or, if the person turned out to be more chill, he could be a bit more open about the whole paganism thing. But a few of the more Bill Cypher Approved talismans, jars and spell ingredients were going to end up in a box under the bed, unless an emergency arose. Much to said demon’s annoyance.

Dipper had just started going through another box of supplies when a knock sounded. He looked over his shoulder at the door and realized it was probably his new roommate. 

_ ‘Perfect timing!’ _ Bill sang.  _ ‘Best he figures out right off the bat that you’re a total weirdo.’ _

“Shit.” Dipper hissed, hastily grabbing a box off the floor and setting it on the desk so that it hid most of his witchy stuff. He gave the room a quick once over, just to make sure nothing questionable was sitting out in the open, before striding over and unlocking the door. 

The guy at the door was tall, about six inches taller than Dipper, and thin, though not nearly as wiry as Wirt was. He had short, jet black hair, stunning blue eyes and pale skin. He had a big duffle bag slung over one shoulder and carried a backpack in one hand. No boxes. He quirked a half smile at Dipper, which seemed genuine enough, though the shadows under his eyes made Dipper wonder when the last time this guy got a full night’s sleep was. 

“Hey!” He said, waving a few of the fingers that were hanging onto the duffle’s strap. “You’re Mason, right?” 

Dipper winced reflexively. “I actually go by Dipper, but yeah. That’s me.” Dipper paused, only now really regretting not looking over his roommate’s file. “And you’re…”

“Danny.” Danny said, holding out a hand. 

Dipper took the hand and shook. 

_ ‘Oooooo! What have we here?’ _ Bill purred.

_ ‘Don’t you dare.’  _ Dipper thought back, mentally trying to push the dream demon back while keeping his expression neutral.  _ ‘No mind reading, remember.’ _

“Nice to meet you, Danny.” He let go and stepped back, opening the door so that Danny could step inside. “Hope you don’t mind, but I went ahead and grabbed the bed by the door. Kinda wanted to snag the shelf.” He said, nodding at the now full shelf as well as the small pile of books on the floor that hadn’t fit. He was going to have to buy another shelf before the year was out, he was sure.

Danny shrugged as he stepped inside. “Fine by me. I’m actually glad to have the side with the window anyways.” he said, striding over and tossing the duffle onto the empty bed. Dipper noted the smell of cigarette smoke that hung in the air as Danny had passed by. It was faint though. 

_ ‘Pine Tree-’ _

_ ‘Not now, Bill.’ _ Dipper hushed, trying not to lose track of the conversation. 

“You like the fresh air?” Dipper asked. 

“Something like that.” Danny said. 

Dipper’s brow furrowed at the vague comment. 

_ ‘There’s  _ **_so_ ** _ much more to that.’ _ Bill sang. Dipper mentally pushed Bill back, a bit more forcefully this time, but he could still feel the demon’s glee. It was starting to unsettle him.

“Nice ink.” Danny said, eyeing Dipper’s left arm. 

Dipper’s eyes fell to said arm, which had Bill’s summoning sigil meticulously drawn into his skin. The original tattoo had just been drawn on with sharpie, years ago. When Bill was successfully summoned and bound to Dipper’s body however, the sigil wove itself into dipper’s skin and became very much permanent. 

_ ‘Someone knows quality when they see it.’ _ Bill preened. 

Dipper ignored him.

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “So, what are you majoring in?” 

Danny chuckled. “Business Management.” 

“Planning on opening a shop?” Dipper asked, leaning back against his desk and crossing his arms as he watched Danny. 

“Not really. Just needed to major in something and figured that was the most useful thing at the time.” Danny said. He unzipped his duffle, picked it up and upturned it, emptying a pile of unfolded clothes onto the bed along with a few other odds and ends. He gave the bag a shake to make sure it was empty before dropping it to the ground and unceremoniously kicking it under the bed. “What about you?”

Dipper blinked. “Uh… Oh. Um, I’m getting a BA in Parapsychology.” 

Danny raised a brow at him as he started grabbing clothes and shoving them into drawers with seemingly no rhyme or reason. The sight made Dipper cringe. 

“So… you’re a shrink then?” Danny asked. 

Dipper huffed. “ **Para** -psychology.” he emphasized. “It’s basically the closest thing to getting a degree in paranormal studies as you can actually get. Telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, telekinesis, apparitions. That kind of stuff.” Dipper summarized. 

Danny seemed to go very still and looked over his shoulder at Dipper, raking his blue eyes over him. All at once Dipper got the impression he was being sized up. “There’s actually a degree for that?” he asked. Dipper shifted as Danny’s gaze drifted around Dipper’s side of the room. Almost warily. Though his body remained relaxed, it was still too still. 

_ ‘There’s your obvious red flag, kiddo.’ _ Bill mused.  _ ‘Now get to the point and start asking the good questions.’ _

Dipper nodded once. “Yeah, there is.” he answered. “You interested in that sort of thing?” 

Danny chuckled and went back to stuffing his clothes into drawers. “Sort of. It’s more of my parent’s speciality though.”

“Oh?” Dipper asked, tilting his head as thoughts ran through his head at a mile a minute. 

Danny glanced up, noticing that Dipper was waiting for him to elaborate, and sighed. “Ugh. Fine, but just don’t ask a billion questions about it. Alright? It’s my parent’s line of work, not mine.”

“One or two is fine though, right?” Dipper asked. 

Danny rolled his eyes. “You get three questions and then we drop it, deal?”

Bill flashed across Dipper’s mind at the word, ‘deal’. He was itching to shake on it, but Dipper kept him held back.  _ ‘Will you chill? I’ll ask a question for you too, dude, but you’re not actually making a deal with him.’ _

_ ‘You keep pushing me back like that and you’re not going to have a choice in the matter, Pine Tree.’  _ Bill threatened, though there was a hint of mirth in his tone. 

“Alright, deal.” Dipper said. 

Danny crossed his arms and shrugged. “My parents are paranormal scientists. Specifically, they hunt ghosts. Think less ‘Scooby Doo’ and ‘The Winchesters’, more like ‘Ghost Busters’, but with a lot nicer toys.”

“Wait, really?” Dipper asked, his eyes growing wide. 

“Yes, really. And that’s question one.” Danny said with a nod. 

_ ‘Ha! I like this one. He knows how to play the game.’ _ Bill laughed.

“Awe, come on that’s not fair.” Dipper whined. 

Danny smirked, but said nothing in return. 

“Okay, fine. But like…” Dipper paused, trying to figure out how to word this to get the most out of the question. “Okay. Have you actually seen or interacted with anything paranormal though? For certain?” 

“That’s technically two questions, but I’ll allow it.” Danny said and nodded. “Yes. I’ve interacted with multiple ghosts on quite a few occasions. Most of them are regulars at the Fenton house, at this point.” He sighed dramatically. “And they don’t even have the decency to pay rent.”

Dipper deflated. “You’re joking.” he stated. 

Danny shook his head. “I’m really not.” 

There was a sincerity in his words that made Dipper want to believe him, but he’d been bullied enough times back in highschool to be wary of strangers taking the paranormal at face value. Dipper bit his lip. 

_ ‘He’s not lying.’  _ Bill purred. _ ‘Ask him, what’s the scariest ghost he’s ever come across?’ _

“I’m not-” Dipper started, but caught himself as his voice reached his ears. He’d gotten way too used to talking to Bill aloud. “Ugh. Fine. Okay then. “What’s the scariest ghost you’ve ever interacted with?”

Danny froze again and this time Dipper noticed just how unusually still the other guy was. It almost looked like he wasn’t even breathing. He didn’t react to Dipper’s question at first, but something dark settled behind his eyes. Dipper could have sworn he felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. 

And then it was gone. Danny smirked and let out a hollow sort of laugh. 

“Scariest ghost, huh?” He repeated, tapping his chin with a finger as he leaned his head to the right. “Probably Pariah Dark. Self-proclaimed king of the ghosts. Not a nice guy, trust me. But he’s locked up now, so as long as no one goes looking for him, no worries there.” 

“What made that ghost in particular so scary?” Dipper asked, though he had a few guesses based on his interactions with ghosts paired with the idea of a king of ghosts. 

‘ _ You’re not far off the money there, kiddo. That spook is a piece of work for sure.’ _

_ ‘Wait you know him? He’s real?’  _

_ ‘Never met the guy personally, but he’s got a few horror stories that have made their way through the multiverse.’ _ Bill explained. _ ‘How this beanpole met him and didn’t get obliterated on sight, is what I’m wondering.’ _

Danny shook his head. “Nope. Your three questions are up.” He said, quickly returning to his pile of clothes. “Now, I think it’s only fair I get to shoot off a few questions.” 

Dipper groaned. “Yeah, alright. Fine. Three questions. Go.”

“What happened to get you interested in the paranormal?” Danny asked.

Dipper smiled despite himself, as memories of his first summer in Gravity Falls filled his mind. “My sister and I took a trip to see a distant relative one summer when we were kids.” he shrugged. “Turns out our Grunkle lives in a hotspot of weird and unexplainable phenomena. Now  **that** was a crazy summer.”

Danny’s brows furrowed. “Grunkle?”

“Great Uncle. And that does count as a question.” Dipper smirked. 

“Touche.” Danny hummed as he stuffed the last of his meager wardrobe into the dresser. “Let’s see…” He mumbled. “Alright. You said phenomenons specifically. So, what non-ghost stuff have you come across?” He asked, plopping down on the sheetless mattress and crossing his legs. 

Dipper laughed. “Dude, I’ve literally filled books with all the weird stuff I’ve seen.” he said, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the shelf. “Would you like a chronological list, a top ten or alphabetical?”

Danny eyed the shelf for a moment before looking back at Dipper. “How ‘bout the first  **real** thing you saw?” 

“Oh, that was the gnomes.” Dipper stated, waving his hand as if dismissing the encounter. “They don't even make the top 20. More like vermin than anything else. Funny story though, first time I saw them I thought it was a zombie.”

Danny snickered. “Wha- How do you get gnomes and zombies confused?”

“They were wearing a disguise.” Dipper defended. “Five gnomes, all stacked up on top of one another, wearing a ratty old emo hoodie. One of the fake arms fell off at one point. Totally a zombie tell.” 

“Totally.” Danny laughed. “And here I thought the box ghost was ridiculous.”

“Box ghost?” 

Danny chuckled and nodded. “Yup. Pretty sure he was a warehouse worker, but his whole thing is haunting ‘all containers, cardboard and square.’” Danny explained, slipping into a doofy voice for the last bit, though he quickly fell into a round of snickering by the end. “He’s more annoying than actually menacing.”

Dipper shook his head. “Guess there’s always a few like that huh? The mundane ones that kind of take the magic out of the mystery?”

Danny held his hands up and shrugged. “People are people. Whether they’re dead or gnomes or whatever else. And, sometimes, people are just underwhelming and mundane.” 

_ ‘See? This one gets it.’  _ Bill mused. 

“Fair enough.” Dipper said. 

The pair fell into a comfortable silence, though Dipper noticed that Danny had started tapping his foot as he rummaged through his backpack. Dipper pushed off the desk and was in the process of figuring out what to unpack next. He still wasn’t sure if Danny would be cool with the witchy stuff. 

_ ‘Just ask the guy.’  _ Bill said.  _ ‘And see if you can get anything else out of him.’ _

_ ‘I’m sure we’ll find out more about him over time. Why are you so insistent?’ _

_ ‘He’s hiding something.’ _

_ ‘Everyone’s hiding  _ **_something_ ** _.’ _

Dipper could feel Bill rolling his single eye. ‘ _ When you shook his hand I  _ **_felt_ ** _ something unusual. If you hadn’t pushed me back I could have gotten a better read on it.’ _

_ ‘Unusual?’ _

_ ‘Yes, Pine Tree. And not just the trace radiation from living around an interdimensional portal, though that’s still wafting off of him like the scent of a rotting fish.’  _

“Hey, quick question.” Danny said, pulling Dipper from his internal conversation. 

Dipper looked over his shoulder from where he was kneeling next to a freshly opened box. “Yeah?”

“What’s your opinion on smoking?” 

Dipper blinked, recalling the cigarette smell that had followed Danny into the room. He grimaced. “Not exactly a fan, to be honest. Smoking’s not allowed in the dorms anyways.”

“Yeah I know…” Danny sighed. “Figured I’d ask though. You’re not asthmatic or anything though, right?”

“No, but I’d really prefer to avoid any secondhand smoke if I can help it.” Dipper explained. 

Danny nodded. “That’s fair. I’ll keep it outside then. Sorry in advance for the smell. If it bothers you I can buy a candle or something.”

Dipper’s thoughts instantly ventured to the incense he had just put away and some of the candles and herbs he had in one of the other boxes. “Actually I think I may have us covered on that front.” He admitted, unable to keep the knowing grin off his face. “So… totally unrelated, just out of curiosity, what’s your take on paganism?” He asked, looking at Danny out of the corner of his eye to watch his reaction.

Danny’s brows rose and his eyes flicked to Dipper’s left arm. Then he shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know much about it. Other than the usual, devil-worship, blood sacrifice, killing animals, stuff that people tell their kids to keep ‘em in church. But I’d be willing to bet that’s not exactly an accurate depiction.”

“For the most part it’s not.” Dipper confirmed. “That stuff is real, but the majority of witches don’t even go near that level of dark magic.” 

_ ‘Keyword there being, ‘majority.’ Party poopers, the lot of ‘em.’ _ Bill moaned. 

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Regardless, I try to keep my practice under wraps to avoid too much attention, but since we’re going to be sharing living space…” Dipper gestured vaguely at the room. 

“What, you wanna sage the room, or something?” Danny teased. 

“Actually, yeah. Once I find my sage.” Dipper said. 

“Oh! Shit.” Danny hummed, clearly not intending for the comment to be taken seriously. “Well, alright. I don’t really care, so long as you’re not killing anything or hurting anyone. I highly doubt I’ll be bringing anyone back to the dorm anyways. I’m not exactly the most social person on the planet.” 

Dipper chuckled. “Me neither. I’ve got one friend who I might bring by when he comes to visit, but he lives in Massachusetts, so it wouldn’t exactly be often.” 

Danny smirked. He did that a lot, Dipper thought. “Just a friend?” 

Dipper paused while reaching into the box and glanced over at Danny, trying to get a read on him. “Why do you ask?” 

Danny held up his hands in a placating manner. “Trust me, dude, I’m the last person to judge. Just curious is all.” 

Dipper raised a brow at that. Danny didn’t elaborate. 

“He’s my boyfriend.” Dipper confirmed, going back to unloading the box. “Been together for a few years now actually. Figured it’d be nice being on the same coast for once. Hopefully get to see each other more often.” 

“Awe. That’s sweet.” Danny cooed. “Well then, just give me a heads up whenever you need the room and I’ll make myself scarce. Oh! That reminds me, we should probably trade numbers.” He said, reaching back and pulling his phone out. 

Dipper set down the jar of rosemary in his hand and pulled out his own phone. “Thanks, man. Though, I gotta say it doesn’t look like you’re trying to leave much of an impression to begin with.” he said as they traded contact info. “Is that really all the stuff you brought with you to New York?” 

Danny shook his head. “Nah. This is just enough to get me by for the month. Mom and Dad will be in town in about a month for some conference thing they’re speaking at. Figured it’d be cheaper to just haul all my junk over  _ then _ , rather than shipping it or paying for the gas to make a whole ‘nother trip.” 

“Wait… A conference? In a month?” Dipper asked, his mind already locking onto the coincidence. 

Danny nodded, still looking at his phone. “Yeah. It has to do with their work. Very ‘hush hush’. Can’t give details, sorry.” 

“No. No, I mean- My Grunkle Ford is flying in for a conference in a month to give a big presentation on Inter-Dimensional Travel and Spacetime Anomalies.” Dipper explained. 

Danny looked up and blinked at Dipper. “You think it’s the same conference?” 

“A pair of ghost hunting scientists and Grunkle Ford in one city at the same time? That can’t be a coincidence.” Dipper stated. 

“What exactly does your Grunkle do?” Danny asked. 

“Mostly he tracks and studies anything on the fringe of science and the known world.” Dipper explained. “He’s been to a bunch of different dimensions though and is more than a bit of an explorer in his own right.” 

Danny nodded. “That would explain why he and my folks are gonna be at the same meet-and-greet…” He mumbled. 

Dipper was about to ask him to elaborate on that when his stomach growled embarrassingly loud. He flushed. 

_ ‘And there’s the meat suit, stepping in to ruin all the fun.’ _ Bill hummed. 

Danny smiled. “You know, I haven’t eaten since before I got on the plane this morning. Wanna go grab a bite?” 

Dipper smiled in return and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah that sounds good.” He grabbed his satchel and quickly stuffed one of his half-filled journals in it along with his keys and wallet. “Oh, by the way! I almost forgot.” He walked over to the desk and snatched a key out of the top drawer and tossed it at Danny, who caught it with surprising ease. “Welcome to the dorm.”

“Thanks.” Danny said, pocketing the key. “Now then, know of any good places to get a bite?” 

Dipper shrugged as they walked into the hall and he locked the door behind them. “I don’t know, man. I’ve only been in New York for all of six hours. I mean, pizza’s kind of ‘the thing’ here, right?” 

“I’m down for pizza. Just no pineapple.”

Dipper gasped and put a hand over his heart. “You, sir, do not know good pizza toppings.”

“Ewww! Gross, dude!” Danny exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Fruit does  **not** belong on pizza.”

“Tomatoes are fruits.” Dipper countered. 

“Isn’t there a saying about tomatoes and intelligence versus wisdom?” 

“Doesn’t matter, Pineapple is still delicious on pizza.” 

“Heathen.” 

By the time they got down to the street, both boys were laughing as they argued about toppings. 


	2. Welcome to the Neighborhood

_ ‘Yo wats the code to get in?’ _ Jake typed into his phone, hitting send on the text and looking up at the apartment complex. Nothing too flashy, but not a hunk of junk either. Just… pretty average for an apartment building, at first glance.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for a reply to come back. Jake grinned and entered the code into the little box by the resident entrance. The door made a harsh buzzing sound and made an audible click. Jake stepped inside and quickly found the elevator. He punched in the button for the top floor and waited as he was lifted through the building. His skin crawled at the feeling of rising off the ground without the use of his wings. Kind of hard to avoid in New York, though. 

Still, it was nice to have a reason to get out of the house that wasn’t Dragon related. Ever since Spud started his full time job and Trixie moved upstate for school, things had been more than a little lonely. Sure Jake had his own classes and his family was always around, but that was really more of a curse than a blessing now that school was back in session. Even if Jake wasn’t exactly close with Zak, he saw the other’s move to the city to be a perfect opportunity that he was not about to pass up. 

Besides, it wasn’t every day another hero his age moved to his stomping grounds. 

The elevator dinged and Jake stepped out into a little foyer that led to a single door. A bit ostentatious, he thought. He rolled his eyes as he approached and knocked. A muffled curse sounded from the other side of the door, followed by shuffling footsteps and the distinct sound of cardboard boxes being kicked away. Jake bit back a laugh as the door swung open. 

“Hey, Jake!” The man inside greeted, immediately swinging an arm out to gesture for his guest to enter. He was significantly taller than Jake, by a full foot at least, and he wore a wide, toothy grin that somehow managed to look genuine. “Mi casa, es su casa.”

Jake chuckled as he stepped inside. “Thanks, Zak. Sorry I couldn’t come by sooner. You know how it is.” 

“Yeah. Yeah. Dragon stuff. No biggie.” Zak assured, closing the door behind Jake. “You’re still rockin’ the green tips, I see.” he mused, passing his friend and giving him a playful nudge. 

“Ha! You’re one to talk.” Jake laughed. “You’ve practically got a starfish on your forehead.”

“Hey! Your green on black gimmick is dyed. This,” Zak said, sweeping a hand through the long, white bangs that hung out over his face, “is all genetics.” 

“Uh huh. Suuure.” Jake teased. 

Zak rolled his eyes and kept walking through the suite, leaving Jake to look around. The place was an impressive size for a New York apartment. Open floor plan. Huge living room. Windows all along one wall, which was dominated by plants and a rather large, flat rock. Modern art, he supposed. A large, sectional couch sat in the middle of it all, facing a huge TV on the opposite wall. There were a few cardboard boxes along the walls, but for the most part it looked like Zak was pretty much done unpacking. Off to one side was a hall that led to what he assumed was the bathroom and bedroom. Or rooms. Given that this was the only suite on this floor, he was starting to wonder. On the other side of the living area, sat a decent sized kitchen, where Zak could be seen shuffling around in a pantry. 

“You want popcorn or chips?” his host asked. 

“Depends. Wacha got?” Jake asked, still admiring the clean, modern apartment, interspersed with little natural elements here and there. 

“Sweet kettle corn, Butter delux pop, or chilli con chispas.” Zak said. 

“Ooo! Toss me the chips.” 

Zak tossed the bag over his shoulder and Jake jumped to catch it out of the air. The instant the bag was in his hands, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. 

He was being watched. 

Jake whipped around, but the large room was empty. His eyes flicked to the window, narrowing into slits to give him a better view, but he couldn’t make out anyone who might have been looking in on them. Odd… He’d gotten pretty good at spotting attackers, even the really well hidden ones. 

“Uhh, ZaaAHHH-”

Before he could warn Zak, Jake was roughly tackled from behind and a body settled onto his back. A sort of hissing growl reached his ears and the bag of chips was snatched out of his hands.

“Jake? What’s- HEY!” Zak shouted. “Komodo! Get off! We do not attack guests.” 

Almost as quickly as the attack had happened, the weight lifted off of Jake and the chip bag dropped onto the floor in front of his dazed face. Jake groaned and looked around, his eyes locking instantly on the massive lizard that was shaking its head not three feet away from him. A hand entered Jake’s field of view and he looked up to see Zak, wearing a look of chagrin. 

“Sorry about that.” He said, pulling Jake to his feet. “He’s still getting used to the new place and he’s a bit territorial. Especially when it comes to food.” Zak knelt down and scooped up the bag, offering it back to Jake. 

Jake took it and looked back at the lizard, who was eyeing the shorter human and flicking his tongue angrily. When Zak stepped forward, the lizard switched its gaze to its master and gave a short hiss. 

“Yeah, well, that’s what you get for attacking Jake.” Zak said, crossing his arms over his chest as he conversed with the overgrown reptile. 

“What, did you toss him across the room or something?” Jake asked.

“Huh? Oh, nah. Nah. Nothing like that.” Zak assured him. “He just hates it when I use my powers on him. But if he’s going to act like an aggressive cryptid, then he’s going to get treated like one.” he said, pointing a glare at the lizard. 

Komodo, for his part, gave a final hiss and then turned and slinked over to his basking rock by the window, grumbling all the way. Okay, so not modern art… 

Jake shook his head. “Hey, if I could get out-of-control creatures to do what I needed them to with just a look, I’d use that all the time.” 

“It’s not as easy as it looks, but I do what I can.” Zak said, his grin returning. “You okay?”

“Me? Oh yeah! Totally fine.” Jake made a dismissive motion with his free hand. “I’ve taken harder hits from pixies. Just really caught me off guard is all. Could have sworn we were the only ones here.” 

“Ahhh.” Zak hummed, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at his pet. “Did I forget to mention he can turn invisible?”

Jake blinked. “I really shouldn’t be surprised and yet…”

Zak chuckled. “I mean, the average Komodo Dragon is hardly a cryptid. They’re just big lizards. Komodo’s the real deal. No deadly bite, but he’s more intelligent than the average reptile and the whole invisibility thing goes a long way when it comes to survival.” 

Jake smirked. “Not two weeks into school and you already sound like a nerd.” he mused. “Nice place, by the way. All yours?”

Zak shrugged. “My parents’, actually, but yeah. For the next four years, this is casa de Zak!” He proclaimed before falling gracelessly over the back of the sofa and landing on the cushions in a huff. 

Jake vaulted over the sofa and settled into the corner seat. “Man, I wish I had a place of my own.” he said, ripping open the chip bag. “Mom wants me to stay with them for at least another year while I’m going to school. It’s okay, don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I’m not being kicked out or anything. But our home’s been crazy cramped ever since Haley started High School and took up like fifty sports and started bringing a hundred friends over every other night.” 

Zak laughed. “See, it’s stuff like this that makes me glad I’m an only child.” Komodo made a garbling hiss from across the room and Zak rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.” he called back, flicking a stray kernel at the lizard. 

“Oh! I do have some news for you though.” Jake said, crunching on a chip as Zak raised a brow at him. “You know that big science convention your uncle’s doing security work for? Gramps and I actually got a formal invite!”

“Wait really?” Zak asked. “Isn’t all that a little out of your realm of expertise?”

Jake shrugged. “Apparently the Dragon Council got word that one of the presenters is going to be discussing information that could be important to us, so they want someone there to see what’s up.” Jake popped another chip into his mouth. “My guess, cloning. Like, yeah I know it’s technically already a thing, but once that tech gets faster and easier to access, it’s only a matter of time before the magical community starts cloning rare creatures on the black market for all kinds of shady shit.” 

Zak hummed in thought. “Maybe. Actually, Uncle Doyle’s security job there got cancelled. Something about them finding someone who was willing to do it for free if they could attend.”

Jake furrowed his brow. “What? How are they supposed to pay attention to security  _ and  _ attend the panels, or… whatever they’re called.”

“Beats me.” Zak shrugged. “But mom and dad were already going, so if anything happens they’ll totally make up for any lack-luster mall cop.”

“Two secret scientists, two dragons and a mall cop.” Jake counted off. “Yeah, I think the conference will be pretty well protected. Not that I expect them to get robbed or attacked, but…” Jake shrugged. “Once you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you tend to start preparing for the worst.” 

“Ugh! Tell me about it.” Zak groaned. “I spent like, two days straight setting up and testing all the security measures on this place before I could get a full night’s sleep.” 

“See? And  _ that  _ is exactly why it’s always better to have a secret identity.” Jake said, waving a chip at his friend. 

“Oh yeah. Sure. ‘Cause no one’s eeeeever discovered your secret identity before.” Zak drolled. 

Jake tossed the chip at him. “Never said it was a perfect method. But at least I’m not up at all hours, paranoid about being attacked in my own home.” 

Zak shrugged. “Fair enough.” 

“So are you gonna be attending?” Jake asked. 

“What, the conference? Are you asking because you’re curious or because it’s your job?” Zak replied. 

Jake held up his hands. “Hey, man. Just tryin’ to get an idea of what I’m walkin’ into. It’d be nice if I wasn’t the only person in a two mile radius who knows what tiktok is.” 

Zak laughed. “I get that. I mean I thought about going. It’d mean getting to spend time with Fisk some more before he and the folks head out again. And I know mom and dad would be glad if I could keep him entertained while they’re doing their thing.” he sighed. “I just don’t know if I wanna waste my saturday lounging around a con full of old science nerds.”

“Well then how does this sound?” Jake started. “You come along, grab your cryptid bro, meet up with me and the three of us go have some fun while the old timers yammer on about quantum time theory or whatever. Gramps and I only have to attend the one panel anyways. Outside of that, I’m free as a bird.” 

Zak shook his head. Then he grinned. “You know what? Alright! I’ll take you up on that.” He sat up and held out a hand. 

Jake shook the offered hand and let go, bumping Zak’s loose knuckles with his fist and pulling back with a flourish. Zak blinked, not really knowing how to respond. Jake couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up at the bewildered look on Zak’s face. 

“Oh, man. You’re gonna have to get better at that if you’re gonna live in my neighborhood.” Jake teased. 

“Yeah well, trying to teach Fisk how to do secret handshakes as a kid never really went well so just toss that onto the pile of sheltered, homeschool-kid shortcomings.” Zak said, sitting up and holding his hand out again. “Show me.” 

Jake set his bag of chips aside and sat forward. “Alright, man. Just like this.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> \- Updates on this fic will be random. This is intended to be an escape from some of my more angsty and plot heavy projects, so I'll add to it whenever I feel like it.  
> \- If you want to see more of these dorks (art I draw of this fic) or have a question about them or the world they're in, go check out the askblog I made for this Crossover AU https://uscollegekids.tumblr.com/  
> \- If you enjoy my writing and would like to interact with our little community here, join the discord! https://discord.gg/Tw6btE7


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